Alex McCord
|Place of Origin = Kansas, Texas, & US Virgin Islands |Series = Real Housewives of New York City |Season = 1-4}}Alex McCord is an original New York City housewife, who was featured from season one to season four. Background Born in D.C. and raised in Kansas, Texas and the US Virgin Islands, Alex McCord attended Northwestern University. A New Yorker for 14 years and counting, she spent 10 of those years working hard at two careers, graphic design and acting. She is a busy gal-on-the-go, juggling her career with being the mother of two boys, François and Johan, a wife to her devoted husband and constant sidekick Simon van Kempen, and a thriving social calendar. Previously quite reserved, Alex comes out of her shell in season 3 finding a new voice and no longer choosing to stay quiet and ignore the antics of others. After the birth of her children, Alex made the tough decision to leave theatre in favor of expanding her design and retail operations career and went back to work full time for Victoria’s Secret. With the economy in freefall, Alex was laid off in early 2009, and found a silver lining by going into business for herself. She quickly landed high-end designer consignment chain Second Time Around as a client, as well as Manhattan’s oldest camera store, Willoughby’s, where she will unveil an in-store showroom renovation with Pentax and Leica this spring. 2010 is big for Alex and Simon both with the birth of another kind of baby, the book they wrote together, Little Kids, Big City, out in April. With both their boys in school, Alex and Simon can now enjoy their recent home renovation project – their Brooklyn dream home is complete. RHONY Season 1 We meet Alex, who is a working wife (to Simon) and mother of two (François and Johan). She works in visual merchandising, specifically for Victoria's Secret. Alex and Simon are quick to admit they aim to socialize with higher circles, love being photographed, and spend a copious amount of money on clothing. Simon says Alex is "blessed with a model's figure," so he enjoys spending five to six figures on dressing and other clothing for her. Alex brags that she lives in a 2.2 million dollar townhouse in Brooklyn and that she and her husband are patrons of the met. In fact, Alex and Simon are nearly inseparable. Since their marriage, they've never spent more than nine days apart. When Simon returns home to Australia after the death of his step-father, they are apart for over a week, which proves to be very hard for them both. Ramona finds the Van Kempens to be co-dependent. When Simon crashes a "girl's night," Ramona is instantly triggered and incensed and ultimately leaves the party half-way through dinner. Alex is insistent that her two sons have french-speaking au pairs, and she only allows the boys to speak French when they vacation for the summer in St. Barts. Both of her sons rebel heavily against this, showing little interest in becoming bilingual. Though she brags about her Brooklyn townhouse, it is revealed when Bethany visits the Van Kempen home that it is entirely under construction and unfinished. During the Season 1 reunion, all of the other housewives agree that this was the most shocking moment of the season, especially considering the way Alex and Simon present their livelihood. After Housewives She and her family moved to Australia to be closer to her husbands family. During her Countess and Friends Cabaret, Luann de Lesseps named Alex McCord her “least favorite Housewife, past or present.” Taglines Seasons One, Season Two and Season Three: "To a certain group of people in New York, status is everything.” Season Four: "I've always had opinions, but now people know it." Family *Simon van Kempen (husband, 2000-) *Francois and Johan (sons)